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Tonight the Los Angeles Kings Host the Struggling Arizona Coyotes

By Eric Fleischmann

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Tonight the Los Angeles Kings will host the struggling Arizona Coyotes at Staples Center. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PST.

The Kings enter the game coming of a tough 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday.  Jeff Carter put the Kings ahead in the first period, but a lack-luster third saw L.A. give up a power-play goal and the go-ahead game-winner.

However L.A. has had a decent March.  In their last five games the Kings are 3-1-1.

The Coyotes are 1-13-1 in their last 15 games.  Arizona’s last win was March 5th, in a shootout against the Vancouver Canucks.  The Desert-Dogs are currently on a four-game losing streak, though they did acquire 1 point from a 2-1 overtime loss to Nashville two games ago.

This will be the 4th and final game between Arizona and Los Angeles.

L.A. is 2-0-1 this season against the Coyotes.  The Kings lost 3-2 in overtime on October 11th, then won on 4-0 and 4-2 on December 4th and 20th, respectively.

The Kings projected lineup from their morning practice, reported by L.A. Kings Insider Jon Rosen, is as follows:

Forwards:

Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings /

Los Angeles Kings

Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown

Trevor Lewis – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli

Dwight King – Nick Shore – Justin Williams

Kyle Clifford – Andy Andreoff – Jordan Nolan

Defensemen:

Robyn Regehr – Drew Doughty

Jake Muzzin – Matt Greene

Brayden McNabb – Andrej Sekera

Goaltenders:

Jonathan Quick

Martin Jones

Quick is expected to be tonight starter.  Quick has been ridden for the duration of the season, and with a big playoff push on the line, the Kings will continue to ride their winning goaltender to the finish line.

Quick’s record is 29-18-11, with a 2.32 goals against average and .914 save percentage.

Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli have been lighting it up for the Kings.  The two linemates now have 20+ goals each.  The 2/3rd’s of That 70’s Line have continued their dominance despite missing Tanner Pearson.

The last few games, and for tonight’s matchup, head coach Darryl Sutter has moved Dwight King off of the second line and rotated Trevor Lewis in his place.  Lewis has had a good season for coach Sutter and the Kings.  Not only has Lewis brought his impeccable work ethic and his A game to every contest, but he’s also having a record year.

In 59 games this season Lewis has career high’s with 9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points, a +9 plus/minus, 1 short-handed goal, and 2 game-winning goals.

Marian Gaborik is another King putting the puck in the net.  Gaborik has 21 goals in his first full season with the Kings.  L.A. needs Gabby to keep pushing Anze Kopitar and that first line, and to keep putting the puck past the goaltender.

Andy Andreoff is expected to go in place of Jarret Stoll who is out, and continuing to be monitored by the team’s medical staff.  Nick Shore will move up to the third line in Stoll’s place, and Andreoff is expected to center Kyle Clifford and Jordan Nolan on the fourth line.

Coyotes players to keep an eye on:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson.  The young star defensemen is one of the few Coyotes players that’s having a great year.  In 69 games Ekman-Larsson has 17 goals, 33 points, and 9 power-play goals.

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    • Due to Arizona’s lousy play, Ekman-Larsson also carries a -21 plus/minus rating with him.  The goals and power-play goals are career-highs, but the plus/minus is a career-low.

    Ekman-Larsson is a great puck mover, and has a sniper shot from the blue line.  Ekman-Larsson score the overtime goal against  the Kings on October 11th, that gave the Coyotes their only win against the Kings this season.

    Ekman-Larsson is a major piece of Arizona’s future.  If the Kings don’t shut him down tonight, he’ll be an implication in L.A.’s future as well.

    Sam Gagner has found new life in Arizona.  Gagner also has 33 points and leads the team in assists with 21.  Gagner hasn’t been a stand-out because Arizona hasn’t been good this year.

    However, Gagner has shown some improvement from his playing days for the Edmonton Oilers.  Effort is more recognizable in his game, and he seems to be flying all over the ice.  The Kings need to focus on the game at hand, but as fans keep an eye on Gagner, who’s been a nice pickup for the Coyotes.

    Arizona’s in a bad way.  There are in the race to the bottom – ‘Tanking’ is the word that no one wants to use.  That’s what Arizona’s doing, though not on purpose.  They just don’t have a good enough team to compete right now.

    The Kings cannot fall into that trap and give up the win, and two very precious points.  Not right now.  It’s not only to points the Kings need; it’s another division win.

    Tonight may not be the most entertaining hockey you’ll ever see (that is unless the Kings light it up), but it is an important game for L.A.’s push to defend their Stanley Cup title.

    Go Kings Go!

    March 5, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings celebrate their 4-3 shoot out victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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